Mobile aerial platform

ABSTRACT

A mobile aerial platform embodies a multi-section telescopic boom upon which a self-leveling operator platform is mounted. Hydraulic and electrical controls for the machine on the operator platform require the use of hydraulic hoses and electrical cables external to the boom and extending between the platform and the boom base section. A flexible hose and cable guidance, positioning and protecting track extends from the boom base section to the lower extremity of a rigid arm carried by the boom fly section and being substantially coextensive lengthwise therewith. The use of the arm reduces by approximately fifty per cent the required length of the flexible track which is very expensive. The arm also forms a support for a platform leveling cylinder.

I Ulllted States Patent 1 1 1111 3,776,367 Grove Dec. 4, 1973 MOBILE AERIAL PLATFORM Primary ExaminerRei naldo P. Machado [75] Inventor: John L. Grove, Greencast'le, Pa. Attorney' Emory Groff et [73] Assignee: Fulton Industries, Inc., [57] ABSTRACT Mcconnensburg A mobile aerial platform embodies a multi-section [22 il J 12 1972 telescopic boom upon which a self-leveling operator platform is mounted. Hydraulic and electrical controls [21] Appl. No.. 261,775 for the machine on the operator platform require the use of hydraulic hoses and electrical cables external to [52] US. Cl. 182/2 the boom and extending between the Platform and the 51 Int. Cl B66f 11/04 boom base'section- A flexible hose and cable guid- [58] Field of Search 182/2, 141, 148; mm, positioning and Protecting track extends from 212 144 3 the boom base section to the lower extremity of a rigid arm carried by the boom fly section and being sub- [56] R f r Cited stantially coextensive lengthwise therewith. The use of UNITED STATES PATENTS the arm reduces by approximately fifty per cent the 2 682 432 6 1954 S h required length of the flexible track which is very ex- 3,2l2,604 1041965 Gil 2:: pensiva The arm forms a support for a platform 3,480,109 11/1969 Eitel 182/148 levelmg cylmder' 8 Claims, 5 Drawing lFigures PATENTEU DEC 4 i975 SHEET 10F 2 MOBILE AERIAL PLATFORM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The increasing use of larger aerial platforms which embody two and three section telescopic booms gives rise to at least one problem which heretofore has not been solved in an economical or satisfactory manner. The hydraulic and electrical controls for the entire machine must be located on the operator or worker platform remote from the wheeled base of the machine, and hydraulic hoses and electrical cables of considerable length must be provided external to the boom and these flexible elements must extend from the platform to the top of the boom base section. Without some guidance or restraining means, the flexible hoses and cables tend to sag and flop around in a haphazard way during movements of the boom, and in addition to being unsightly, this can cause damage to a hose or cable due to entanglement or frictional contact with a moving section of the boom.

Consequently, it is the object of the present invention to cope with this problem through the provision of an economical and practical guidance and restraining means for the necessary hoses and cables which lie outside of the boom structure. The particular means employed is in the form of a flexible track element which protects both hoses and electrical cables from damage due to scuff or abrasion, twisting or stretching, while at the same time guiding these flexible elements during all movements of the telescopic boom in a non-sagging loop along the top of the boom whose length may vary as the telescopic boom is extended and retracted. The flexible guidance track element, being expensive and costing approximately dollars per foot, is employed in the invention in conjunction with a rigid unitary arm which is attached to the nose of the boom fly section and extends rearwardly therefrom exteriorly of the fly section along its upper side and in parallel relation thereto. The arm extends for substantially the entire length of the fly section and is capable of externally overlapping the boom base section in closely spaced relation when the boom is fully retracted. One end of the flexible track element is attached to the rear extremity of the rigid arm and its opposite end is attached to the boom base section near the upper end of the latter. The arrangement is highly compact and efficient and reduces by about one-half the length of the expensive flexible track element required for the proper guidance and protection of flexible cables and hoses. The rigid arm serves the additional purposes of providing a pivotal mounting point for the worker platform and a support for the hydraulic cylinder which maintains the platform level at all times.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a mobile aerial platform embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is another side elevation of the machine with the telescopic boom retracted and lowered to a level position close to the base of the machine.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, showing the cable and hose guidance and protecting means in relation to the fully retracted multi-section boom.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the elements shown in FIG. 3, with parts in section and parts broken away.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the same, the mobile aerial platfonn shown in its entirety in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a conventional steerable wheeled base 10 having a turntable means 11 centrally thereon for the support of a counterweighted body portion 12 which contains the engine, pumps and other conventional power components which need not be described in detail for a proper understanding of the present invention. Sufiice it to say that the machine is selfpropelled, steerable and the body portion 12 is revolvable for a full 360 in either direction on the turntable 11. All controls for the machine are located remote from the wheeled base on a worker or operators platform at the top of the boom structure, yet to be described.

The body portion 12 carries sturdy upstanding bracket extensions 13 rigid therewith upon which the rear end of a boom base section 14 is pivotally mounted for vertical swinging movement as indicated by the numeral 15. A conventional lift cylinder 16 for the telescopic boom is provided between the top of the body portion 12 and the boom base section 14, as shown. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a multisection boom is provided including, in addition to the base section 14, a mid section l7 and an outer or fly section 18. The boom is extensible and retractable between the extreme positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by conventional hydraulic means, not shown in detail, and being unnecessary to describe for a full understanding of the invention.

At the distal end of the boom, a worker platform 19 is provided and this platform carries all'of the necessary hydraulic and electrical controls for the machine including the controls for propelling and steering the wheeled base 10, for turning the body portion 12 on the turntable and for raising and lowering and extending or retracting the telescopic boom. These controls per se are conventional and well-known and need not be shown or described in detail.

Because of the location of all of the controls on the worker platform 19 near the tip of the boom, it is necessary to employ hydraulic hoses and electrical cables of some length between the platfonn and the top of boom base section 14. The improvement to which this application is directed resides in a guidance, supporting and protecting means for these flexible cables and hoses so as to prevent the same from sagging in a haphazard manner and possibly becoming damaged by tangling, stretching or abrasion as where they are left unsupported. The means in question comprises a section 20 of self-supporting carrier track of the type manufactured and sold by Gleason Reel Division of Maysteel Products Corp. of Mayvillc, Wisconsin. A disclosure of this track structure is contained at column 4, lines 60 through 65 of US. Pat. No. 3,480,109 issued to .I. M. Eitel et al. on Nov. 25, 1969. The carrier track 20 consists of a multiplicity of pivotally interconnected links 21 which resist flexing or sagging in one direction due to the coaction of abutting shoulders 22 on the links.

The track is freely flexible in another direction so as to form a controlled self-supporting variable length loop for hoses and electrical cables or other flexible elements contained therein.

As shown in the drawings, the necessary flexible hydraulic hoses 23 and electrical cables 24 making up an electrical harness extend through the length of the carrier track 20, between the side links 21 thereof, FIG. 4. At each pivot 25 of the carrier track, the hoses 23 and cables 24 are supported by transverse carrier plates 26, such plates having openings which receive the hoses and cables and support them, without interfering with their ability to flex. The carrier track forms itself into a non-sagging straight section 27, FIG. 1, when the telescopic boom is extended. When the boom is retracted, FIGS. 2 and 3, the carrier track is laid down upon the upper side of the boom base section 14. Additionally, the flexible carrier track 20 is stable in the lateral direction and prevents the hoses and cables from moving transversely of the boom. The track maintains the hoses and cables in a neat variable length loop at the top side of the boom regardless of its angle and degree of extension. The carrier track also substantially encloses the hoses and cables and protects them against scuff or abrasion and also against twisting, stretching or entangling.

One end of the carrier track 20 has a mounting link 28 which is fixedly secured at 29 to the top side of boom base section 14 near the outer end of this section. The remote end of the track has another mounting link 30 which is similarly fixed at 31 to the lower end of an elongated rigid box-like arm 32 which parallels the boom fly section 18 in spaced relation to the top thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, the interior of the rigid arm 32 receives the hoses 23 and cables 24 as they emerge from the carrier track 20.

Near the upper end of the boom fly section, the rigid arm is formed by a pair of spaced plates 33 having short rear extensions 34 which are welded to opposite sides of the box section 32 so as to render the plates 33 rigid and integral with the box section of the arm. At their forward ends, the plates 33 have depending transverse extensions 35 integral therewith which straddle the opposite sides of boom fly section 18 and are rigidly attached thereto by welding or the like. Forwardly of the fly section 18, a sturdy pivot element 36 pivotally connects the platform 19 to the rigid arm composed of the elements 32, 33 and 35.

The arm plates 33 receive between them a cylinder unit 37 whose function is to automatically maintain the platform 19 in a level attitude regardless of the angular position of the boom between the extreme positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The rear end of the cylinder is pivoted at 38 to the plates 33 of the rigid arm while the rod 39 of the cylinder unit is pivotally attached at 40 to a pair of mounting plates 41 projecting from the rear side of the platform 19. The operation of the cylinder 37 in automatically leveling the platform 19 is conventional but the mounting of the cylinder 37 on the rigid arm adjacent the top of the boom fly section is novel. A cover member 42 may be provided on the rigid arm to substantially enclose the cylinder 37, as shown, and this cover member may be constructed so as to be easily removable, if desired. It may be seen, therefore, that a rigid arm external to the boom fly section 18 composed of the elements 32, 33 and 35 is generally L-shaped with the transverse portion 35 thereof attached to the nose of the fly section and carrying the worker platform 19. The elongated body portion of the arm composed of the elements 32 and 33 is spaced from the top of the fly section and is substantially coextensive lengthwise therewith.

By utilizing the rigid arm in combination with the carrier track section 20, the length of track section required is reduced by about fifty per cent from what would be needed without the use of the arm. Since the carrier track is priced at approximately 20 dollars linear foot, a considerable economy is achieved by the use of the combination structure, and with no loss of function as regards the purpose of the carrier track in guiding, supporting and protecting the hoses and cables. Additionally, the rigid arm is enabled to perform several other useful purposes as described in supporting the cylinder 37 and the worker platform.

When the cables 24 and hydraulic hoses 23 emerge from the lower end of the track 20, they pass down along one side of the base section 14 of the boom, FIG. 1, and in this region are preferably covered by a sheet metal channel cover 43 to further protect the cables and hoses and for the sake of appearance and safety.

It may be readily seen in the drawings that when the boom is elevated and extended, the rigid arm 32-33 moves outwardly with the fly section 18 and pulls the flexible cam'er track 20 outwardly from the base sec tion 43 so as to form the long non-sagging section 27 adjacent the boom mid-section 17. When the boom is retracted, FIGS. 2 and 3, the rigid arm 32-33 passes over the top side of the base section 14 and causes a long section of the track 20 to be laid down on the top wall of the boom base section, as shown in FIG. 3, and only a short loop of track remains between the rear end of the rigid arm and the boom base section. In any condition of the telescopic boom between the two extremes shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carrier track 20 will automatically adjust itself without sagging or swaying laterally and will continue to guide, support and protect the hoses and cables extending through it. It is believed that the advantages of the invention will now be apparent to those skilled in the art without the necessity for further description herein.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine having an extensible and retractable telescopic boom with hydraulic and electrical controls at the distal end of the boom and flexible hydraulic hoses and electrical cables external to the boom extending from the distal end toward the base of the boom, the improvement comprising a rigid arm secured to the distal end of the boom and extending reversely from the distal end for a substantial distance near one side of the boom, and a flexible non-sagging carrier track for the hoses and cables and receiving the hoses and cables therethrough in supported relation, the carrier track having opposite ends secured to the rigid arm and to the base portion of the boom.

2. The structure of claim 1, and the rigid arm comprising an elongate box-like member receiving the hoses and cables as the same emerge from the adjacent end of the carrier track, said adjacent end of the carrier track being secured to the interior of said box-like member at the lower end of said member.

3. The structure of claim 1, and a worker platform pivotally mounted on the rigid arm adjacent the boom distal end, and an automatic leveling cylinder for said platform having a pivotal connection with the platform and a second pivotal connection with said arm.

4. The structure of claim 1, and said rigid arm and carrier track for the hoses and cables being arranged exteriorly of the telescopic boom.

5. The structure of claim 4, and said rigid arm comprising a generally L-shaped arm having a short transverse portion adjacent the distal end of the boom and fixedly secured to said distal end, a worker platform pivotally supported on said transverse portion of the arm, and a leveling cylinder unit for the worker platform having a pivotal support point on said arm.

6. The structure of claim 1, and said machine comprising a mobile aerial platform and said telescopic boom including base, intermediate and fly sections, one end of the carrier track secured to the upper side of said base section near the outer end thereof, said rigid arm secured to the fly section near the outer end thereof and extending rearwardly along the fly section at the upper side thereof for substantially the entire length of the fly section, said rigid arm adapted to overlap the upper side of the boom base section when the boom is retracted.

7. The structure of claim 6, and a worker supporting platform carried by the boom fly section and said -hydraulic and electrical controls being located on said platform, an automatic leveling cylinder means for said platform mounted on said rigid arm, and said flexible carrier track adapted to be laid down in a straight section on top of the boom base section when the boom is retracted, the carrier track being extended into a straight non-sagging section adjacent the boom intermediate section when the boom is substantially fully extended.

8. The structure of claim 7, and a side cover member on the boom base section for covering and protecting hoses and cables which emerge from the lower end of said carrier track where such lower end is attached to the base section, said hoses and cables extending downwardly along said one side of the base section exteriorly thereof. 

1. In a machine having an extensible and retractable telescopic boom with hydraulic and electrical controls at the distal end of the boom and flexible hydraulic hoses and electrical cables external to the boom extending from the distal end toward the base of the boom, the improvement comprising a rigid arm secured to the distal end of the boom and extending reversely from the distal end for a substantial distance near one side of the boom, and a flexible non-sagging carrier track for the hoses and cables and receiving the hoses and cables therethrough in supported relation, the carrier track having opposite ends secured to the rigid arm and to the base portion of the boom.
 2. The structure of claim 1, and the rigid arm comprising an elongate box-like member receiving the hoses and cables as the same emerge from the adjacent end of the carrier track, said adjacent end of the carrier track being secured to the interior of said box-like member at the lower end of said member.
 3. The structure of claim 1, and a worker platform pivotally mounted on the rigid arm adjacent the boom distal end, and an automatic leveling cylinder for said platform having a pivotal connection with the platform and a second pivotal connection with said arm.
 4. The structure of claim 1, and said rigid arm and carrier track for the hoses and cables being arranged exteriorly of the telescopic boom.
 5. The structure of claim 4, and said rigid arm comprising a generally L-shaped arm having a short transverse portion adjacent the distal end of the boom and fixedly secured to said distal end, a worker platform pivotally supported on said transverse portion of the arm, and a leveling cylinder unit for the worker platform having a pivotal support point on said arm.
 6. The structure of claim 1, and said machine comprising a mobile aerial platform and said telescopic boom including base, intermediate and fly sections, one end of the carrier track secured to the upper side of said base sEction near the outer end thereof, said rigid arm secured to the fly section near the outer end thereof and extending rearwardly along the fly section at the upper side thereof for substantially the entire length of the fly section, said rigid arm adapted to overlap the upper side of the boom base section when the boom is retracted.
 7. The structure of claim 6, and a worker supporting platform carried by the boom fly section and said hydraulic and electrical controls being located on said platform, an automatic leveling cylinder means for said platform mounted on said rigid arm, and said flexible carrier track adapted to be laid down in a straight section on top of the boom base section when the boom is retracted, the carrier track being extended into a straight non-sagging section adjacent the boom intermediate section when the boom is substantially fully extended.
 8. The structure of claim 7, and a side cover member on the boom base section for covering and protecting hoses and cables which emerge from the lower end of said carrier track where such lower end is attached to the base section, said hoses and cables extending downwardly along said one side of the base section exteriorly thereof. 